The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that about 13% of adults (11% of men and 15% of women) were obese in 2016.

According to projections by Danish and British researchers, this proportion will rise to 22% in 2045 if nothing changes by then.

“The course of things can be reversed, but it requires deliberate and coordinated policies,” said one of the authors of this work, Dr. Alan Moses, who works for the world number one insulin, the Danish Novo Nordisk.

This projection hides disparities across countries. For example, if the current trend continues, more than half (55%) of the US population will be obese in 2045, compared to 39% in 2017, according to the authors of this work, which have not yet been published in a medical journal.

According to them, this increase in obesity will be accompanied by an increase in cases of type 2 diabetes, which will increase from 9% of the world population in 2017 to 12% in 2045, or one in eight people.

“The cost to health systems will be huge,” said Dr. Moses.

Obesity is a global public health issue. According to a US study published in June 2017, the proportion of the obese population, which has steadily increased worldwide since 1980, has doubled in 73 countries.

Consequence: an increase in mortality due to cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and some cancers.